Sunday, January 24, 2016

Snowed In Creativity! My first finish of 2016!

When the snow forecast was announced last week and the in house meteorologist confirmed the impending doom, I knew it was time to find a project! A few years ago a made my very first wallet using the free pattern by Confessions of a Fabricaholic. This outstanding pattern ( did I mention the free part?) is one of my favorites! I had pinned it on my Go-Go Kim Pinterest Board recently and was so happy that I did when I needed make sure I had all of the necessary sewing related items before the first snowflake fell!

I looked through all of my fabrics on hand to see if I could create something with the Sew My Stash Challenge as a goal. When looking and not fining anything really definite...there... on the top of my UFO pile , were the remains of the Log Cabin Quilt that I sewed in Oct to make a circle skirt for Quilt Market. If the stunning log cabins were good enough for a skirt, why not a wallet!?! I measured out the necessary pieces of fabric and started quilting!

I made two wallets and this is the crosshatch quilting on the first. I was originally going to do match stitch but quickly changed my mind.

For the quilting and construction of the wallet, I used Aurifil 50wt color 2605. If I had this color in 40wt, I would have used it instead. With so many layers there was concern of breakage. I had not one break and no issues with stitches popping when turning! YAY good quality!

There were a couple of things I did differently with the pattern ( that is AMAZING without changes) to see what would happen. I am a thrill sewer and like to change things to customize them to my tastes. It is one of the reasons to sew. Everything is customizable!

To make this one fun, I added a magnetic snap closure. I live on the edge! If you have never installed a magnetic snap, there is a great tutorial on Sew 4 Home or a video by Sew Sweetness . It is an easy thing to do but can take some muscle!

Being a curious sort, I wondered if making the corners curved would make sewing through the layers easier. The closest circle was the lens cap to the camera! Using the side of the cap, I created a little curve with a Frixion pen . It was an easy adjustment to make and it did help with the sewing and also with the turning. I liked the finished look as well.

I added interfacing to all of the lining pieces to give the wallet even more body. Katy said it is as sturdy as a building! With the addition of the interfacing, I high recommend using a walking foot for all the construction with the exception of the installation of the zipper.

The inside of the wallet has room for everything you could possibly need!

I am so happy to have STARTED and FINISHED a project this weekend and it is my very first real finish of the year! Time for HAPPY DANCING!!!!!

It seemed only right to take the photos in the snow!

If you were following along in the #SewnSnow on my gogokim Instagram over the weekend THANK YOU! I had a blast seeing all of the projects and sorry for the overgramming. It helped to keep my on track with goals :o) You guys are the BEST!

This is brilliant, I've made a couple of these following the same tutorial but using vinyl/laminated cotton so obviously hadn't thought of quilting them, now seeing this I need to make another one (or 2)! Glad you found something to keep you busy while snowed in, it's something we in the UK can only imagine!

I knew when I saw the close up photos that I would love it and I was right!! What a cute wallet! I'm very tempted to make one for myself. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a sewist. I quilt, but haven't done much else. (I made curtains for my kitchen and bedroom, but that's pretty much it.) I think this may be outside my skill set. ...Kudos on a job well done!